Is the information pipeline for this game a bit slow?Follow

I've been checking each day to see if any new information on future patches and the direction of the game, but we only seem to get vague tidbits on what is to come. The communication level is still far better than it was with FFXI, but I crave for more.

If you check a wow centric site such as MMO-C, you'll see a slew of info being released each week for Warlords of Draenor. Official forum posts, class changes, raid and pvp directions and changes, maps, images of upcoming armors, mobs, etc. Yoshi's team does an interview once in a while that contains a bit of info that comes off as more of a riddle that is subject to change than a list of facts. It was fantastic to see some new designs for the upcoming PvP armor sets, but with no meaty information regarding the current state of PvP (fairly dead..) and the future direction, what do we as players have to look forward to in obtaining those sets for our characters?

All we know is that we may get new classes, there may be a new form of PvP, and that there will be a raid outside. No sketches or art behind it, no solid info. Just vague statements regarding the future of the game. The devs said they want to save this info for E3. Shouldn't expansion information be saved for E3? As far as I know, this info is only concerning a series of patches we'll be getting in the next 6 months.

I'm thrilled with the contrast between the FFXI team and the FFXIV team, but it would be nice to get more solid updates and more direct communications regarding what content we have to look forward to and a nice ETA on when that content will be released.

So I guess what I'm asking is; Do any of you find the updates to be a bit slow or am I just impatient?

I personally don't like the updates in rapid succession. As it tends to dilute what is actually coming out, and tends to be very error prone, and promotes nit-picking.

The current rate of about once a week with 14 has been pretty good. And it's enough to digest, without people going nuts over it.

But then again, I have a tendency of being too patient.

Aren't you comparing a new wow expansion to a major update patch?

I think we all wish our favored MMO's could be more ambitious and productive with respect to the types of content we prefer. I really do want to be into XIV more, but for me, the dungeon spammer endgame and subsequent caste system that spawns from it just isn't fun.

WoW isn't getting a patch, it's getting an overhaul. It's not quite the equivalent of 1.23 ---> 2.0 because they didn't take the game down while they rebuilt it, but it's the same scale of work they're talking about - perhaps moreso since they have half a dozen expansions work of content to refresh in addition to the base game.

The volume of information we got just before ARR was released was pretty much a waterfall.

All of the jobs/classes were largely rebuilt for ARR. They are probably fitting Musketeer to work with their current paradigm. To count the original 1.0 launch as the starting date for the class information is a bit unfair, in my opinion.

wrong thread, ignore me :p


Edited, May 3rd 2014 2:54am by Perrin

So WoD is coming out in Fall 2014, while ARR Expansion #1 is coming out maybe during Q1 2015 if we're optimistic.

It makes zero sense for SE to pump out information at the same pace as Blizzard. The expansions are half a year apart at best. Your expectations are just not realistic in the slightest. SE is competing with major updates against a major expansion. The end result can't be anything but this.

Considering ARR Expansion #1 will feature as much content as 2.0 and that WoW's patches outside expansion releases have nothing to write home about, there is no doubt that the tables will turn.

Wouldn't call the content particularly deep, myself, as many things are simply rehashes of old BCs akin to regurgitating primals here. There's still a lot I wish XI would do to make it a better game, but alas. Still think Abyssea was probably the best thing any MMO has ever done in terms of solo/low-man content and doling out endgame rewards at a respectable pace. It wasn't perfect, but I was certainly more inclined to say, "Well, I'll level/gear X now!" whereas XIV is more like, "Well, I'll need Y time to level/gear X now... Meh."

I'm only comparing the current WoW patches to WoW patches of the old. They used to be something to write home about for sure. They're alright even today, but compared to ARR the difference is hardly substantial. I definitely did not say that WoW's content relies purely on expansion packs. Technically this game has been out for 8 months. No matter what the spin is this game isn't 1.0 in anything but the spirit. Like what WoW is to WC3.

I don't think the game is at the state yet where we must be fed new info constantly one month into the last patch just to keep us interested. I am simply wondering why you are comparing a game entering its marketing push for the next expansion to one that has its expansion still roughly a year away. It's not a fair comparison to make and the reasons are clear.

To be fair..they did forget about the game since they were busy developing FFXIV 1.0 ...which didn't even get a proper release.

That's part of what bothers me. FFXI grew a pretty healthy player base, especially considering the entry barrier(aka grind). For whatever reason, they thought it would be a good idea to ditch it. A lot of the work was outsourced so I'm not sure XIV is even a proper excuse.


It didn't bother me for several reasons..

At the time I was working on a relic so it wasn't like I didn't have my hands full already. That and the quests and missions were tedious and encounters were difficult. You have to remember that this is a game that never held your hand. Hell, sometimes you'd be lucky to get a decent clue as to what to do next. I was never without something to do in that game up until most of my friends departed.

You've brought this up a few times in your posts. Do you have any proof or just reading sites with their conspiracy theories?